


The Voices of Us

by kitty_ray



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: F/M, Idiots, Language, Lovable Idiots but Idiots Nonetheless, M/M, One-Sided Attraction, Rating May Change?, Romance, Shipping, Youtuber AU, also space cats, and everyone just wants keith and lance together because the sexual tension is STRONG, but mostly nb, couple workouts omg so adorable, hunk is such a lovable dork i will fight you on this, keith can sing and you can't convince me otherwise, klance, pidge is genderfluid in this, shallura - Freeform, they are all idiots
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-28
Updated: 2016-09-24
Packaged: 2018-07-27 08:39:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,674
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7611193
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kitty_ray/pseuds/kitty_ray
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Based on @ sopaladone's YouTuber Headcanons on Tumblr.</p>
<p>In which Lance falls in love with Keith's voice, Hunk is turning twenty-one, Shallura is the workout couple, Pidge is pining, and Keith is extremely concerned why all of his friends are YouTubers. And that is just the tip of the iceberg.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So this based on @ sopaladone's headcanons, and you should really check them out because they are amazing and I love them. 
> 
> Enjoy!

“Lance, why the  _fuck_ is Red wearing a dress again?” 

“Because he wanted to feel beautiful!” 

“I swear to  _God,_ Lance if you don’t take the dress of now, I’m gonna throw away all of your Shakira posters!”

Lance gasped, his eyes growing wide as he nearly dropped the cat in his hands. He forgot about the video he was recording as he glared at Keith. “You wouldn’t dare,” he whispered. Keith glared back. “Watch. Me.”

Inhaling through his nose, the Latino slowly turned back to his camera and gave a tight smile. “Looks like ‘Adventures with Space Cat’ is going to be put on hold for now.” He leaned in. “I’ll do it when he’s not home.”

_“Lance!”_

He turned around and glared at Keith again. “Alright, alright. Dress is coming off!” Red meowed as he took off the frilly pink dress, something Lance thought was the equivalent to a cat yell. If Blue, his idiot cat, would let him, he’d dress her up and do Space Cat with her. But  _no,_ she just  _had_ to be a little shit and scratch him every time he tried dressing her up. Red was the temperamental one, so why did Blue give him a hard time?

Putting down the cat and giving the ‘outro’ (as he liked to call it) to end his video, Lance stopped recording and turned off the camera. The chair squeaked as he spun around. “Dude.” He gripped the arms as he leaned in, the chair squeaking again. “ _Dude._ I gotta do an ‘Adventures with Space Cat’ video soon. My subscribers are going nuts for it!” 

“Do it with your own damn cat then.” Keith picked up Red when he ran to him. The cat started to purr as he scratched underneath his chin. Lance pouted. “They’re going to notice if it’s a different cat. And Blue won’t let me dress her up. I still have the scar from the last time I tried.”

Keith put down Red and grabbed his phone and his wallet. “C’mon. Allura was pissed the last time we were late.”

Muttering about editing his video, Lance stood and followed Keith out of the door, grabbing his keys on the way. It was their unspoken rule that at least one of them had to have their keys on their person at all times if they were both going out at the same time. Normally, it’s Lance. (The one time it was Keith’s job, he actually forgot his and locked them both out. It took the landlord two hours to get there to unlock their apartment. Since then, it was always Lance’s job.)

The L.A. sun beat down on his neck, but he was used to it at this point. He grew up right on the beach, most of his adolescent life working at the Pizza Shack with his sisters and brothers and parents. Though, he would never get use to the amount sweating that came with the Californian heat. 

“What are we even doing at this thing anyways?” Lance, asked, his eyes training on a couple of girls that walked by.  _Attractive,_ he thought. Keith coughed to gain his attention before shoving his hands in his pockets. “She wants to do some combined-video-thingy or some shit. I don’t know, man, you have to ask her yourself.”

Keith, despite having all YouTuber friends (and roommate), had absolutely no idea what anything on the website was. Nothing made sense to him. It constantly drove Lance up the wall because he could be talking about one of his videos or collabs and the boy would constantly interrupt him to ask what it meant before giving up. Lance didn’t tell him about his videos anymore. 

The place they were meeting at was some smoothie bar that Shiro and Allura found ages ago. They made the best strawberry banana smoothie in Lance’s opinion. Most of the group was already there, minus Hunk. (He was most likely running late because of his own video. It happened a lot.)

“Lance! Keith! Over here!” 

Allura waved them over, a huge grin on her face as she did. Of course she chose to sit outside, and of course it had to be on the hottest day of the year. This girl literally had no idea just how much Lance was dying right now. He thought that the Brit would be dying in this heat, but she seemed to fit in just fine. What was she made of anyways? Alien blood and rainbows?

“You are finally here. Come, come, I got your smoothies for you already!” She ushered them to the large patio table and sat them down, her grin never faltering. Lance was weary of the smoothie. “Uh, Lure, I know you mean well and all, but how long has this smoothie been here?”

“Yeah, and do we have to pay you back or something?” Keith asked what Lance didn’t want to. Broke college kids never had enough money to spend on things like smoothies. Especially smoothies that cost six fucking dollars.

Allura waved her hand. “No, no, it’s on me. We’ve only been here for a few minutes.” She looked around. “Did any of you invite Hunk?” 

Pidge shook their head. They put down their phone to look at the girl. “Didn’t you say that he was uninvited?” 

“Just making sure. This would be a bust if he came.” She pulled out a scrapbook from her purse and placed it onto the table. ‘HUNK’S BIG BIRTHDAY VIDEO/PARTY’ was written in big stick-on letters, each a different color of the rainbow. The moment Lance saw it, he immediately started to wish that he stayed home and feigned illness. At least then he would be able to edit his video.

She opened the scrapbook to the first page. “Shay wanted us to throw him a surprise party with a Hawaiian theme since he can’t go home for his birthday this year. Poor Hunk. He doesn’t have enough money to fly home, and all these finals make it practically  _impossible_ to go anywhere, and-”

“Stay on topic, Lure.” 

“Oh. Right. Anyways, Shay came to me a month ago or so and asked for my help with planning the party. I’ve got everything figured out-what decorations to use, what food to make, the date for the party, everything. I just need you guys to help actually set it up and makes sure people come.” She turned to Lance. “Lance, I need you to put it on your channel.”

He put down his smoothies, his arms crossing over each other as he frowned. “What? Why me?”

Shiro spoke instead. “Because you have the most subscribers. And you live-vlog everything. I’d be easy for you to draw attention to this.” 

Looking at it logically, it made sense for him to do it. But it was Hunk’s birthday, so shouldn’t it be on his channel instead? Then again, this was Hunk’s birthday. It was his best friend’s birthday. He should totally do it for him. Sighing, Lance nodded. “Alright, what next?”

“Pidge, I need you to invite this list of people-” she handed them a long piece of paper “-by Wednesday. They should RSVP by at least next Tuesday. The party will be next Saturday.

“Keith, you’re in charge of the music. Make sure it’s actually something that Hunk likes. We don’t need that emo music that you listen to blaring through the speakers again.

“Shiro, I’m putting you in charge of finding the decorations and such. Please don’t get them from that party store you went to last time. Those weren’t really that good, and most of them were falling apart halfway thought the party. Poor Coran was in tears when his cup’s handle broke.” She fell silent, everyone remembering the sight of Coran sobbing when his drink fell on the floor. It took forever for Alfor to calm him down.

Lance grabbed the scrapbook from Allura’s side. Every page had some sort of Hawaiian theme.  _She really put a lot of thought into this, huh?_ he thought, flipping the page to one with pictures of beaches. He smiled. Hunk was his best friend, his honorary brother, his other half. If people could have friend soulmates, Hunk would be his. He deserved a good party-a good twenty-first.

“Do you want me to tweet about something big happening? I could do it in a way that Hunk wouldn’t know about it.” He was already unlocking his phone and pulling up Twitter. The tweet was already halfway written when Allura grabbed his hands. 

“Perfect.” 

* * *

 

When Keith was home alone, he blasted his music throughout the apartment. His roommate hated what he listened to, often criticizing it to the point that it was the same as complaining. But when he was alone, no one could say anything about what he listened to, and he could sing along without anyone finding out.

His phone was hooked up to Lance’s speaker in the kitchen,  _Mr. Brightside_ was blaring, and he was dancing while making a pot of chili. He couldn’t help but sing along; it was a song that practically everyone knew. The chorus picked up, and he got a little bit bolder in his singing. Lance wasn’t home, so why should he hold it in? 

**_“Jealousy, turning saints into the sea. Swimming through sick lullabies. Choking on my alibis…”_ **

His hips swayed to the beat of the music. He wasn’t a good dancer-not as good as Lance because let’s face it: nobody was-but he wasn’t necessarily bad. He was definitely a better singer. 

**_“I never… I never… I never! I never!”_ **

“Shit, man. I didn’t know you could sing!” 

Keith yelped, dropping the wooden spoon as he spun around. He fumbled to turn off the music. “Damn it, Lance, announce when you’re home!” 

Lance was leaning on the door jam. He didn’t have a dumb grin or a cocky smirk. He actually had the same face he wore whenever he was trying to figure out a tough problem. The silence that filled the room was nearly deafening, so Keith went to turn the music back on, but he was stopped when Lance finally spoke. 

“You’re good.” 

He turned around. “Huh?” 

“Yeah,” he said as he pushed off the door jam. He walked over to the stove. “You’re actually really good. You should sing more often. Is this ready?” 

Keith smacked his hand away. “Leave the chili alone, damn it.” Pulling his hand back, he leaned on the kitchen counter. His shoulders bunched up as he looked away. “Don’t get used to it. I’m not singing in front of you ever again.” Muttering, he added, “Or anyone else.” 

His roommate gaped. “Keith, you can fucking sing! I bet if you made a channel, you’d-“

“Lance…” 

The Latino threw his hands up before slamming one down on the counter next to him. “C’mon, people love you already, you have an amazing voice, and you’re not bad on the eyes.” He looked him up and down before nodding. “You’re bound to get some attention.” 

“Can you shut up already? I told you I’m not singing again.” Keith ignored the comment about him being ‘not bad on the eyes’ (oh, who’s he kidding? That left him flustered as hell) and pushed off of the counter. Lance would kill him if he used the spoon that dropped, so he went to go get a new one. Or maybe he should get a ladle. It looked about ready. 

“Okay, okay, okay. I’ll shut up about it if-”

“Thank you!” 

_“If,”_  he continued, “you sing on my channel on my next video. Just see what people say and see if they want you to create your own channel.” 

He pointed at the cabinet above Lance’s head then grabbed two spoons. His roommate got the hint, grabbing two of the six bowls that they actually own. One of them, he decided, will have to ask for more as their birthday present. It would most likely end up being Keith. 

“What do I get if they don’t?” He had to see what Lance was offering. Their last bet ended up with him cleaning the entire apartment. It was surprisingly clean when Keith got home, and he was afraid to touch anything for a few days. 

Lance tapped his chin, genuinely thinking about it. When he figured it out, he snapped his fingers. “I’ll make my Mamá’s famous enchiladas.” 

Victoria’s famous enchiladas? Already, this boy was making a compelling case. He scooped some chili into one of the bowls and handed it to his roommate. “So all I have to do is sing on one of your lame-"

“Hey!”

“-videos and wait for your subscribers to say yes? And I get enchiladas if they don’t like it?” 

The boy nodded. “Yeah, and if they like it, all you have to do is create your own channel and actually post on it. You could probably get equipment from Pidge or something. I don’t know where they get that stuff.” 

“No one does.” Keith raised a spoonful of chili to his lips and blew on it. He didn’t miss the way the other’s eyes flashing down to them. Oh, that’s leverage to use if he needed something done. Sighing, he stirred his chili. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but okay. I’ll sing. Just for your next video.” 

Lance whooped, pumping his fist in the air and walking out of the kitchen. “I got Keith fucking Yun to sing on my fucking channel! Woohoo! I gotta go text Pidge…” 

Keith would be lying if he said he didn’t stare at his ass as he walked out. What? He was gay as hell and Lance had a nice ass. Sue him. 

He shook his head. Just what did he get himself into?

* * *

 

“Hey, Starchild. I need you to get that-goddamnit you died!”

“Sorry, man. Looks like I’ve gone onto the afterlife. Remember me when you win.” 

“Starchild!” 

Pidge glared Kevin-aka Starchild-and nudged his shoulder. “You fucking idiot, we could’ve gotten that item!” 

Kevin waved his hand. “Just win this for us, Gamerson. Win it for me.” He wiped his eyes of the fake tears before dropping his controller. “Dude, what the fuck, you just  _died.”_

“Like hell was I going to face that boss alone!”

“Pidge, we’re literally just playing Little Big Planet 3. It shouldn’t be hard.” 

They glared at Kevin, the grip on their controller tightening. Whispering, they said, “No man gets left behind. Even if it’s an idiot who died by  _running into the enemy.”_

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Let’s just go back.” He dug through the bag of chips. “Hey, did you hear about Ivy?” 

“Yeah! Her boyfriend cheated on her then she fucking  _wrecked_ his shit. But I don’t really know what she did though.” Pidge took a sip of their coke. “Damn, I’m gonna need another one. So what did she do?” 

Kevin jumped onto a platform and waited for Pidge to jump up to him. “She created a new account on WoW and dragged his ass. Stole all his shit. Recorded it all and put it on her channel. At the end, she broke up with him and called him out. The girl’s got moxy. Fucking hell, Gamerson, get your head in the game!” 

“Damn, Star, this isn’t High School Musical!” 

“No shit. I’d be bopping right to the top if it was.” 

That went on for six more minutes until they finally beat the boss. It wasn’t even that hard; they just kept getting distracted by High School Musical puns. Pidge paused the game and cut the sound. “So that was interesting. Thank you so much, Starchild, for coming onto my channel and playing this game with me. If you want to go his channel, I’ll have the link down below. Seriously do because he has the best shit.” 

“Aw, thanks, man. I didn’t know you felt that way!” 

“Shut up. Anyways, please like and subscribe, and I’ll see you like Sunday or something. I don’t know when I’ll actually post this. Game on, my friends.” 

They cut the camera off then turned to Kevin. Their stomach growled. “Wanna go crash Hunk’s video and steal his food?” 

“Let’s go.” Kevin was already out of his seat and running towards the kitchen. They stood up with a little more care, making sure that their skirt was right before walking out of their room. What? Skirts were comfortable and freeing, and they got like a shit-ton in their closet for days they felt more feminine. (Those days were rare, but not as rare as their masculine days. In fact, if they actually calculated how many days they felt feminine and how many they felt masculine, feminine would beat out masculine by two weeks. Mostly though, they tend to be more gender neutral.)

“…And then we’re going to put on-guys, what are you doing?” Hunk stop midway of his sentence when the two YouTubers reached for some of his ingredients. They looked at each other. “Nothing…” They both drawled. 

Hunk glared at them. “Just take the food already and go.” 

The larger man resumed his video, and the others scurried into the living room. There was still an hour before Kevin had to go to class, both videos were filmed, and there was nothing to do. Great.  “So,” they drawled. “What now?”  

Kevin groaned and ruffled his dark hair. He looked at his phone. “I gotta go to pick up my sister then go to class. Wish I could stay though.” He looked at them, his blue eyes reflecting the sun’s gleam. “I had fun playing with you, man.” 

“I did, too. Have a safe trip.” 

“See ya, Gamerson!” 

Pidge watched as Kevin walked to his car before sitting down on the couch. The skirt bunched up around their legs. Okay, so there was a good reason why they wore a skirt and why they wore a headband to ‘keep their bangs out of their eyes’ and why there may or may not be a little lip gloss on today. That wasn’t the first time they collabed with Kevin, and they actually hung out on a regular basis. Something-a tiny little something-fluttered in Pidge’s stomach when the two hung out together. They never acted on it; they can’t really. 

Kevin had a girlfriend. 

Pidge didn’t even stand a chance. But it didn’t hurt to look nice for him right? 

They could hear Hunk saying something about putting his dish into the oven before he said that he’ll be right back. Two seconds later, their roommate walked in. 

“Okay, so you need to tell that boy or so help me I’m going to drag your butt down to his apartment and say it for you.” Hunk wiped his hands on his apron (this one had a that classic  _‘Kiss the Chef’_ thing on it) as he sat down. Pidge curled into a ball. “I don’t-what are you-huh?” 

Hunk groaned. “Pidge. You like Kevin. It’s kinda obvious. I mean, you’re wearing a skirt! And your favorite shirt! And is that-is that  _lip gloss?_ Since when do you own lip gloss?” 

They wiped their lips free of it before muttering that they don’t. Lie. 

“Whatever. Come taste this crème brûlée when you’re done sulking.” He stood up and when to the kitchen again, muttering about editing that part of the video out. The apartment carried voices extremely well, and most times, they would be heard on the other’s videos. 

Pidge played with their skirt. They had to get Kevin out of their mind, and they had to do it  _now._ Their eyes landed on their laptop, a slow grin stretching its way onto their face. “I think it’s about time to update that Klance fanfiction,” they said as they grabbed the laptop. “Oh boy, is Keith gonna get a kick out of this one.”

Ten minutes after updating, Keith texted them. 

**From: Dick Overlord**

_- > What. The. Fuck. Why do you do this to me?_

Pidge smiled.

**To: Dick Overlord**

->  _I KNEW you read them._

**From: Dick Overlord**

->  _Shut the fuck up._

They tossed their phone onto the couch and listened to Hunk cook. Maybe he was right. Maybe they should tell Kevin. Maybe, maybe, maybe. Their life was filled with so much ‘maybe’s and ‘if’s that they don’t know what is real and true. Pidge sighed. 

What have they gotten themselves into? 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Little romantic things, some obvious, some not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no idea how to write a character with PTSD nor anything about prosthetics or tours in Iraq. Just to be warned that mentions of PTSD is in this chapter.

Keith didn’t really expect to see Lance entangled in a ball of yarn with the cats when he got home, but it seemed like that was how this day was going to go.

“Do I want to know?” He asked as he tossed his keys in the bowl they kept near the door. (Victoria gave them it as a housewarming gift. They weren’t really sure what do to with it until Lance finally found a convenient way to not lose his keys.) Lance blushed and looked at his hands. “I, uh, may have been trying to play with the cats and have gotten myself stuck?”

Keith sighed and walked into the kitchen. “I’ll get the scissors.”

“Thank you!”

It took thirty minutes of snipping, scratching, crying, and hissing, but Lance and the cats were finally free. The Latino lunged for Keith’s legs and hugged him tightly. “Keith, you are my savior. How will I repay you?”

Keith thought about it. Smirking, he said, “Letting me off the hook for singing.”

Lance’s shit-eating grin stretched off of his face as he turned to his camera, the red light blinking to show that it was recording. (How did he not see that? More importantly, how long was Lance like that waiting until he got home?) “Did you hear that, ladies and gentlemen? Keith fucking Yun is going to be singing on my channel in the next video! And,” he said as he started to stand up, “he can’t get out of it since we made a bet. Care to tell them what it is, Keith?”

 He sighed. With a tight smiled, he said, “If you think I’m good, I have to make my own channel. If you think I’m bad, Lance has to make me some enchiladas.”

Lance’s arm wrapped around his shoulders, and he almost shrugged it off if if weren’t for how he smelled. Some sort of ocean-y smell. He might have to ‘borrow’ it later.

“That’s right, folks! So prepare for the awesomeness that is his voice! Comment below what you think he should sing, and…” Keith tuned out the rest of what he said. He couldn’t believe that he made that stupid bet. That stupid, stupid bet. Where was he even going to get the music for it? Would he have to make his own, or would he try to find instrumental versions? Maybe he could borrow Lance’s guitar. He could probably get Chelsea to play drums if they wanted a rock cover. Would he do a rock cover? This was too stressful. How did anyone do this?

“Don’t forget to like a subscribe! See you next time. Peace!” Lance held up a peace sign before moving to turn off the camera. He had to look away from the goofy grin on his face. He didn’t like the idiot. He didn’t.

Lance turned back to him. “You still going to Cierra’s later?”

“Yeah. She invited you.” He took off his shirt and walked towards his bedroom. Some rotten kid had gotten ranch dressing on the back of it. Luckily, it had been at the end of his shift. “I think she likes you!”

He heard him yelp and drop his camera, which was shortly followed by a “Shit!” His roommate was at the door within seconds. He was grinning. “Does she really?”

If it were anyone else, Keith would worry about not having a shirt on. But Lance had already seen his scars. Lance had already seen the tattoos on his wrists, his right ribs, and on his back. Lance had already seen it all, and he didn’t get that look that he used to get anymore.

“I don’t know, you idiot; I was guessing!” He held up an MCR t-shirt then tossed it onto the bed. Immediately, Lance went to fold it. 

“I’m gonna go. Maybe tonight will be the night that I get laid.” The bed creaked as he laid down on it. Keith laughed. “You?” he asked as he turned around, a Green Day shirt clutched in his hand. “Get laid? Never.”

The Latino scrambled to the end of the bed. He jabbed a finger in his face. “For your information, I actually get laid quite a lot. How about you, Mr. I haven’t had a date since freshmen year of high school? Hmm?”

Keith glared at him before putting on his shirt. (Lance stared. He checked.) “I went out on a date two weeks ago.” He walked out of the room, Lance following not too far behind. “Yeah, and how did that work out?”

He didn’t answer. The asshole knew exactly how it worked out-terribly. He was a jerk that tried to get into Keith’s pants, and when Keith explicitly said that he didn’t want to do anything on the first date, he got mad and up and left the date. Keith went home after paying the bill, caught Lance watching _‘Legally Blonde’,_ didn’t have the mentality to even make fun of him for it, and sat down to watch it with him. They ended up watching the second movie together, too.

“Exactly. So you can’t talk shit.”

He sat down on the couch and glared at him. There was a reason why he didn’t date. Okay, there were many reasons why he didn’t date, and most of them had something to do with his anxiety. He was constantly worried about people leaving him. He was constantly worried that they would realize that they didn’t want to be with him and end up breaking his heart. He was constantly worried that he’d end up alone, broken, and unwanted again.

But, most of all, he was constantly worried if they’d still want him-the broken him, the one that no one was allowed to see-after they found out just how much of a fuck up he was.

“You made your point. Now shut up already.”

Lance sat down next to him and slung his long arm onto the back of the couch. The word ‘Klance’ blared in his mind. He mentally cursed Pidge for showing him that. Blinking the thought away, he reached for the remote to turn on the TV.

If they had another couch or chair, Keith probably would’ve sat on that. But they were broke college students, and the only reason they even have a couch was because Victoria gave them the one that had been sitting in a storage unit for four years. She was a generous woman, even going as far as to have it dry cleaned for them. (He wasn’t sure why she didn’t do this for her oldest daughter, though it probably had to do with Elise moving in with someone that already had a furnished apartment. And she completely rejected the old couch. The boys were ecstatic when they found out they didn’t have to sit on the floor any more.)

The room was coated in a layer of gray by the time Lance’s soft snores filled his ears. He looked at him. His head was leaning back on the couch, his mouth slightly opened and chest rising with every breath. He obviously wasn’t aware that his fingers were tangled in the bottom of Keith’s hair. Keith didn’t know why they were even there, but he did know that if he moved just an inch, they’d be cuddling.

His eyes landed on the stud in his ear. He got it as a dare freshmen year but kept it once he realized that it was actually sort of cool. _“Now all I need is a motorcycle and some tattoos, and I’ll be the bad boy of everyone’s dreams!”_ he joked one day. Keith remembered wanting to hit him for that. Now, all he wanted to do was just reach out and touch him.

He didn’t. Instead, he tried to turn his attention back to the cartoon. At some point, his eyes started to droop. Vaguely, he remembered Cierra and her invitation. _I told her I was going to be there,_ he thought, _but this is way better. Sleeping beats socializing any day._

Cierra texted him at some point, asking if he was coming. One look at Lance told him ‘no’, that he was getting up any time soon. Keith knew that he worked the late shift at the Pizza Shack & Bar-his parents’ restaurant-and he had to be up at six to make his class. Still, Lance really did like Cierra, and he probably wanted to flirt with her, maybe even ask her out. Sighing, he typed **_‘maybe’_** before tossing his phone down onto the couch.

They ended up not going.

* * *

 

Hunk loved his girlfriend. He loved her Italian accent, he loved her curves and how cuddly she was, and above all, he loved how excited she got over something as miniscule as a flower.

He didn’t, however, loved when she kept something from him.

“Shay.” He put down his whisk and looked at her. “Are you hiding something from me?”

Shay looked up, her golden eyes wide. “Wh-what? No! Why do you think that?”

“Because you’re fidgety, and you’re only fidgety when you’re hiding something,” he said as he picked up his whisk again. They were having breakfast for dinner, completed by pancakes and whip cream from scratch. It was Hunk’s idea.

“I hide nothing from you, Hunk. I just… Just have to pee! Yes, I have to pee. I’ll be back.” She booked it out of the room, leaving absolutely no room for Hunk to say anything. He sighed. She was hiding something, and he had to find out what.

Pidge walked in at that moment. She scratched her head, her wrist showing the pink wristband on it. (When she first came out to her friends as genderfluid, Allura immediately went out and bought three different colored armbands-a blue, a pink, and a green one-all because of a blog post showing someone else doing it for their genderfluid friend as well. Mostly, she wore the green one to show she was feeling neutral, but pink often made an appearance as well.) She looked at him. “What’s gotten her in a tizzy?”

“She’s hiding something.” He responded without missing a beat. Pidge jumped. “H-hiding something? Do you have any idea what?”

Pidge was hiding something too. He narrowed his eyes at her. Normally, Pidge was a good liar. She once managed to convince her professor that she turned in an essay-which she did not-and that he actually lost it. Two days later, she got a 93 on it and passed her class. But when she was caught off guard? That never worked out well.

“She probably has some sort of feminine issue that she has to work out.” She waved her hands as if to say ‘come off it’. Hunk shook his head. “No. That was two weeks ago.” He bunched his brows when Pidge stared. “What? I keep track for her. I like to make sure I have everything for her in case she needs it.”

Pidge broke out into a goofy smile. “Aw, Hunk, you big sap. You’re so sweet!”

He blushed and shrugged. “Just trying to be a good boyfriend.” The microwaved beeped, and he turned around to take out the small plate of bacon before dabbing it with a paper towel. Pidge walked over to him. “And a good boyfriend you are.”

He looked at her. She was wearing a skirt again. She hardly ever wore skirts unless…

“Pidge. Are you meeting up with Kevin?” He leaned on the counter with one arm. The girl blushed, her eyes widening and her hands fumbling with her skirt. “What? No. I’m not-I’m not-what are you-huh?”

He shook his head. “You only wear a skirt when Kevin is involved. What are you doing?”

She adjusted her glasses. Involuntarily, her nose twitched. “We’re-we’re going to go see a movie. He had an extra ticket, and Alicia couldn’t make it, and no one else wanted to go with him, so I’m going. It’s not a date! I know that, but…” She picked up her skirt. “I wanted to look nice.”

“Since when have you ever wanted to look nice for anyone?”

She opened her mouth to say something but then promptly closed it. She rubbed her arm. “Got me there.” Shaking her head, Pidge walked up to the door and grabbed her keys. “Whatever. I’ll be back at like eleven or something. Don’t wait up.” Then she was gone.

Hunk sighed. His girlfriend was hiding something, and his roommate/best friend wasn’t even admitting the feelings that she so clearly had. Exasperated, Hunk turned back to his food and started to make a mental list of all the conflicts he needed to solve.

One, Shay had a secret that she wasn’t telling him about, and they shared _everything._ Maybe he should add a little bit of rum or something to her pancake to get her to talk? He shook his head. Nope, definitely not the way to go.

Two, Pidge and her stupid crush on that stupid Kevin guy with a stupid girlfriend. He’s met Alicia before. She was nice, pretty, and overall easy going, but she didn’t seem too interested in Kevin. Hell, Kevin never seemed too interested in Kevin. Should he have a heart to heart with him? Tell him that he’s being an idiot and that Pidge is genuinely interested in him and actually wants to date him and that he should _open his damn eyes already?_

And, surprisingly, three, Keith and Lance. The tension that surrounded them was suffocating. They lived under the same roof, so why couldn’t they just do it already? He was considering locking them up in a closet and not letting them out until they’ve done _something_ other than trying to kill each other.

Hunk groaned. When did it become his job to fix all of his friends’ problems?

“Sorry I was in there for so long. Allura called, and I didn’t want ot bother you with girl stuff, so I talked in there.” Shay said as she came into the room. She must’ve played with her hair because her short green strands were a bit damp. “Is dinner ready?”

He smiled. “Yep. Come and eat!”

He’ll figure out what to do later. Right now, all he wanted to do was eat breakfast-dinner with his wonderful girlfriend.

* * *

 

“So apparently, Hunk is suspicious.” Allura said once she hung up the phone. Shiro’s picture showed up briefly before she locked her phone. “Shay says that he’s asking questions.”

“Isn’t Shay the worst at keeping secrets?” Shiro wrapped his arm around her shoulders again when she sat back down. She nodded. “Yep. But she really wants to do this for him. She knows exactly what it’s like to be away from home.”

He nodded. “Let’s just hope she doesn’t give it all away.”

“Agreed.”

His fingers played with her hair as they watched the movie. She noticed that he kept his other arm away from her. He always kept it away from her-from everyone actually. It worked just as well as his own arm, and he often said that he forgot that it wasn’t really his. But she knew why he kept away from her. He was scared.

A year and a half ago, he had lost his right arm during a tour in Iraq. Everything from just above the elbow down was gone, and when he found out, he was devastated. He never told anyone that he was; she could just see it in his eyes. Luckily, Pidge’s father was a skilled engineer and Matt was a roboticist. They worked together to create an arm for him, and with Pidge’s help as well, they managed to create a fully functioning, somehow waterproof prosthetic arm just for him. He joked sometimes about how he was like a cyborg.

She reached over and touched it. It was cold, hard, and smooth. A quick glance at his face told her that he wasn’t paying attention, so she kept on going.

“I love you,” she whispered as she grasped it. The fingers tightened around her hand. “All of you.”

He was looking at her now. The TV faded away as she kissed him tenderly, her other hand going up to touch his cheek. Her thumb grazed the tip of his scar. “All of you,” she repeated. “Every single part of you.”

He pulled away. His eyes landed on the identical birthmarks next to her eyes. She was teased about them when she was younger. Smiling gently, he kissed them both. “All of you.”

If ‘okay’ was Hazel Grace and Augustus’s ‘I love you’, then ‘all of you’ was theirs.

“You don’t have to hide it from me, you know,” she whispered when she pulled away. She swung her leg over his, straddling him so she could see him better. Her fingers ran down his arm. “You can tell me about it. You can share how you feel about it.” When he looked away from her, she grabbed his face and made him look at her. “I’m here for you.”

Shiro stayed quiet for a few minutes, his eyes flickering as he studied her face. Eventually, he sighed and closed his eyes. She was sure what he was doing until he grabbed a hand and brought it to his mouth. It was her left hand, she noticed.

“I know you are,” he said in a voice so quiet that she strained to hear him, “but I… It’s hard, Allura. You didn’t see what I saw. You’ll never have to hopefully.” His dark eyes met hers. “It was terrible, Lure. I’ve met so many men-so many good men-that didn’t make it out of there. I just…” His head rested on her shoulder, and she could feel her shirt become damp. He clenched the back of it. “I don’t want to remember it, but I see it every night. It’s-it’s terrible.”

She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and squeezed. “It’s okay. It’s okay.”

She waited until he calmed down before she kissed him again. Soft, tender, and full of all the love she could give him. She wanted him to know that he was loved and he was safe and that he wasn’t there anymore because _damn it why did things end up like this?_ Two screwed up kids falling in love, two kids dealing with their own demons.

She shoved aside those thoughts and kissed him harder. She could think about her own troubles later. Right now, Shiro needed her. Right now, Shiro was hurting. Right now, Shiro was her main concern, and she needed to care for him in whatever way he let her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't really expect this to get so much attention, and I really wanted to write another chapter before I went back to school. Hoped you guys liked it!  
> ~Au Revoir, my lovelies!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance is feeling something, Pidge is feeling something, and Keith just wants to punch somebody.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I made some changes to the second chapter regarding Lance and OCD because I've looked into OCD and I realized that I mentally can't take writing the character because it'll cause me actual stress and I'm not sure I'm ready for that task. So the person that added that to their comment, thank you for making me realize this without actually knowing that you were doing this. Anyways, enjoy!
> 
> (Also, Pidge is mostly gonna have 'she' pronouns in this.)

Lance didn’t know that wanting to kiss boys was wrong until he was in first grade. He told his dad that there was a boy in his class that he liked and wanted to kiss, and immediately, the man spun around and dropped his wrench. “Lance,” he had said. He grabbed his shoulder. “Lance, my son. Don’t ever tell anyone else that. Okay?”

“But I already told Mamá.”

Gabriel Reyes closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them again, he looked close to tears. “Listen, my boy. People do bad things to those who think differently from them. You like boys. That’s who you are. But people don’t like it when a boy likes another boy.”

“I like girls, too. Is _that_ okay, Papá?” He cocked his head. Surely liking girls is a good thing!

His father’s brows scrunched up as he looked at him. He smiled. “That’s okay. Liking boys is okay, too. You, my boy, are perfect just the way you are, whether you like boys or you like girls.” He kissed his forehead. “I will always love you no matter who you love. And when you bring home the one that makes you happy, I will love them like my own!” Gabriel stood up and grabbed his hand. “Come. Your Mamá made her famous enchiladas!”

“I love enchiladas!”

When he was nineteen, he told his older sister. They were in the kitchen cleaning the dishes after dinner, the radio playing _‘Stay with Me’_ softly. He didn’t really mean to say it; it just slipped out before he could control it.

“I’m bi.”

“Cool,” Elise said, “so am I.”

The radio switched to another song, and about halfway through it, they realized what they said. Slowly, the siblings looked at each other.

“So…”

“You’re…”

“And you’re…”

They turned back to the kitchen sink, the radio the only sound. It took five seconds- Lance counted-for Elise to blow up. “You’re _bi?_ This whole time I thought you were like a closet gay that says they’re ‘attracted to girls’ but is just hiding their love for dick!”

“Me? I thought _you_ were the closet gay!”

“SHUT UP!”

The two apologized to their mother before going back to the dishes. He didn’t want to come out like that. In fact, he was planning to make a big deal out of it, do something flashy like a musical number. (‘Born this Way’ was his go-to song.) But life doesn’t always go as planned. At least now he and his sister have something in common (as if the same taste in music and TV shows and food didn’t mean anything).

Now, at twenty-one, Lance was seriously screwed. On the one hand, there was an attractive girl at a party that may or may not have the hots for him. One the other hand, there was an attractive boy asleep on his chest. Not just any boy. No, this was his roommate, the one he supposedly “hated”. He’s not sure how they go in this position- he really only remembers wanting to take a short nap on the couch before going to the party-but he woke up with Keith’s head resting on his shoulder, his left hand clutching Lance’s shirt and his leg gently swung over one of his.

Lance stared at him. He didn’t have his usual frown when he was asleep. In fact, he actually looked kind of peaceful. Lance didn’t know what to do. Should he wake him up? Or should he go back to sleep and not do anything about it?

His phone went off, and he moved to get it out of his back pocket, careful not to wake Keith up. Pidge had texted him.

**From: Pidgeotto**

_- > how do you tell a boy that you like him even though he has a gf?_

Lance blinked. Kevin. Pidge was talking about Kevin. The first time he met the YouTuber, Lance immediately disliked him. He was annoying in a Keith kinda way, but at least Keith had his moments of non-douchebagery. Kevin was a different story. The entire time they hung out, he constantly talked about himself and was completely overcritical about the smallest things. Lance never understood why Pidge liked him.

**To: Pidgeotto**

_- > please tell me you’re not talking about Kevin._

**From: Pidgeotto**

__ > … no_

__ > …maybe…_

**To: Pidgeotto**

__ > PIDGE. NO._

**From: Pidgeotto**

__ > PIDGE YES_

__ > I can’t help it okay? He makes my knees go week whenever I see him. Like keith for you._

__ > *weak_

Lance blushed. Keith did not make his knees go weak! He barely elicited a reaction from him at all! He didn’t make his stomach flip over when he took off his shirt or make him feel giddy when he would be in his videos with him (even if Lance did make him) or make his heart tighten whenever he laughed. He didn’t!

He looked down his roommate. Keith’s face scrunched up before he moved closer to Lance, making his blush intensify by just a couple of notches.

Shit.

**To: Pidgeotto**

_- > I don’t know what you’re talking about, Katie “Pidge” Holt._

**From: Pidgeotto**

__ > Suuuuuuuuuure Lance suuuuuuuure_

He locked his phone and placed it on the arm of the couch. Against his better judgment, he looked down at Keith again. There was nothing more that he wanted to do than to run his fingers that stupid mullet of his. So he did. Keith hummed and moved closer to him.

Keith, he decided, was cute when he was asleep. There wasn’t any hostility, any hate, anything. The boy adjusted again, his head tilting forward just a bit. Lance licked his lips. This was dangerous. This was bad. This was… This was…

This was what?

He wanted to kiss him. He wanted to ravish him with kisses and make him look vulnerable all the time because vulnerable Keith was adorable. Lance shook his head. That was not how he should be feeling. He should not be thinking about kissing his rival/roommate/potential crush. He should not be thinking about holding him until the end of the world because _god damn Keith was cuddly._ He should not be thinking about hearing Keith singing just a couple of days ago and how it made his heart skip a couple of beats. That was not what he should be thinking of.

Lance groaned. “Stupid Pidge,” he whispered.

* * *

 

Pidge woke up to the sound her phone blaring. She groaned. 7 AM was not a normal time for a human to wake up, no matter what anyone say. The phone kept ringing at full volume, and she put her hand over her ear to muffle the sound. That lasted until their neighbor next door slammed on the wall and told her to ‘shut the damned thing up’.

Reluctantly, she turned off the alarm and stood up from her desk. One look in the mirror told her that she actually had to do something to her hair. “Or,” she said to herself, “I could wear a beanie and not deal with it today.” She nodded. “Yeah, beanie it is.”

She grabbed a black one (she has five, each a different color) and stuffed her curly hair into it. Her bangs still showed a bit, but it was better than the mess it was before. Satisfied, she walked out of the room.

Hunk was already up and making coffee. It was odd for him considering his classes didn’t start until noon, but if he was making her coffee, she wasn’t complaining. “‘Morning,” he said when he noticed her. “Your alarm woke me up, so I decided to make you some coffee before you go to class.” He looked at her. “Don’t forget to brush your teeth before you go.”

She sat down at their island. “Sure thing, _Mom.”_

“Don’t ‘Mom’ me! I’m making you coffee. The least you can do is thank me!” He crossed his arms and pouted. Pidge pushed up her glasses. What would she do without this lug? Smiling while resting her head on her hand, she said, “Thank you, Hunk. I really do appreciate it.”

Hunk poured the coffee into a travel mug and handed it to her. “Did you finish your essay that’s due today?”

“Yep. Sent it in last night. Actually ahead of the game this time.” She took a sip of her coffee. “Hmm. Vanilla.”

Her eyes glanced at the clock before widening. “Shit,” she muttered. Placing her coffee down, she ran into her room, her bare feet pitter-pattering on the hardwood floors. She stripped of her pajama shorts and underwear before changing into a new pair of underwear and some jeans. Sniffing her shirt, she decided it was okay and then ran into the bathroom to brush her teeth and put on deodorant. With one last trip to her bedroom to grab her bag, Pidge ran back into the kitchen to grab her coffee and say ‘bye’ to Hunk, whom lazily said it back.

Her apartment wasn’t too far away from the UCLA campus, but it was far enough that she may or may not make it in time. Why did she change again? Most people came in their pajamas anyways.

Her question was answered when she saw the familiar head of dark brown hair a few feet away from her. Damn it, why does everything in her life revolve around Kevin now? She used to be totally free of any romantic thoughts, content with just working on her robot Rover and spending time with her friends and family. Now, she could only think about that idiot. Tugging on her hat, she brought her mug to her lips and took a sip of coffee. Maybe if she pretended to not notice him, he won’t notice her either. It would be better for both her and her raging emotions.

Aaaand there went that plan. Trying to calm her blush, she turned around to him and smile. “H-hey, Kevin! Didn’t see you there.”

“Hey, did you do the essay?” His arm wrapped around her shoulder, and she took another sip to hide her blush. “Yeah,” she told him. “I actually managed to finish it on time.”

Kevin groaned. “You’re so lucky! My computer has been crashing the past couple of nights, and I won’t be able to get the stuff I need to fix it in time for _anything.”_ He sighed. “Maybe she’ll give me an extension on it.”

She snorted. “You gotta bribe her to make her do anything. Like get her cookies and coffee or something.”

“Gamerson, you’re a genius!” Kevin kissed her forehead before he ran off yelling, “I gotta go get some shit! See you in class!”

Her hand touched the spot he kissed her as she watched him run off. His lean body maneuvered through a crowd of people with ease. Clutching her drink, she sighed. She should _not_ be that affected by him. That’s not normal. She had to get rid of this stupid crush, and she had to do it right now.

“Was that Kevin?”

Pidge jumped and turned around. Lance and Keith were watching the tall boy as he left, one with a scowl and the other looking dead on his feet. Lance crossed his arms, his scowl deepening. “I don’t like that guy. He’s a douche.”

“No he’s not!” She turned back around and started to make her way to her class. The boys followed her of course, though Keith had to be dragged by his arm to keep up. Sighing, she handed her coffee to him, and he accepted it gratefully. “Anyways, what are you guys doing here this early? It’s Monday.”

“Test.” Keith answered. “And we always have class on Monday. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. And probably some other day.” Mornings didn’t agree with Keith. Either he was the most alert person around, or he’d be totally and completely incoherent. On his bad days, Lance had to drag him around (physically drag him around) and make sure that he doesn’t walk into the street. It’s happened before. Lance wasn’t too happy about it at first, but now it’s like an automatic action for him. Pidge liked to think that it was because he felt like a protective boyfriend, but that was just her opinion.)

Keith handed the mug back to her, but she waved him off. “Keep it. You need it more than I do right now.” He muttered a thanks then went back to drinking it.

“What time’s your class?” Lance asked. He was still dragging Keith along with him, but the other seemed to be walking almost normally. She looked at her phone. “In like fifteen minutes. You?”

“Half hour. Was hoping to get in some study time, but it doesn’t look like I’ll get much.” He looked at Keith. “He was probably wanting to sleep some more.”

“Damn right.”

She giggled. This would be perfect for her fic, Lance dragging around a tired Keith. Her fans would get a kick out of it. (And Keith, no matter how much he denied that he liked it.) She made a mental note to write it down before looking around for Kevin.

“Listen, we gotta go, but see you later?” Lance placed his hand on her shoulder. Nodding, Pidge adjusted her glasses and waved her hand. “Yeah. I’m gonna bring ‘ _Pacific Rim’_ this time. Good?”

Lance nodded and tugged on Keith’s sleeve. The latter adjusted his sunglasses as he waved ‘goodbye’, not fully aware of what was happening. Pidge shook her head. They were already acting like a couple but they’re just too dense to actually realize it.

Sighing, she stood on the balls of her feet to look for Kevin. She sighed again when she couldn’t find him, though this time was in relief. Those thoughts weren’t allowed to shove their way into her head again. It was not healthy for her mentality.

Pidge kept walking to her class, leaving Kevin and any dumb thoughts of romance behind her.

* * *

 

“What do you mean your mom is coming this weekend?” Lance asked him when they were back at their apartment. Their test hadn’t been too hard, but waking up was hell. Pidge’s coffee helped.

Keith paced back and forth across the living room. “I mean exactly that.” He ran his hands through his hair. “Dolora just called and said that she was coming. She’s bringing her fucking boyfriend.” His face scrunched up at the mention of Doug.

Dolora wasn’t his real mother, but she might as well be. When he was fifteen and hopping from home to home, Dolora had decided to just make his stay permanent with her and adopted him. It didn’t matter to her that he was a teenager or that he was gay or that he had all this fucked up shit in his past; she had already started to care for him as her own. So Keith Kogane became Keith Yun.

He loved her-he really did-but for her to come on such short notice was a bit of a stretch. And to bring Doug too? Something must really be up.

“Shit.” Lance rubbed his face with his hand. “Where are they going to stay? We can’t keep them here! _We_ can barely live here!”

“She said that they’re just going to stay in a hotel.” He dropped his hands. He couldn’t stand Doug. The man was annoying and a complete dick, but Dolora never noticed for some reason. Occasionally, when the two were alone, he would ‘accidentally’ make a homophobic comment or crack a joke about being gay. They were normally subtle things, and Keith wouldn’t have even known what he was really saying if he hadn’t been around it his whole life.

Lance turned his head into a pillow and groaned. “Why Doug? He’s a douche.” There were many things that the two boys couldn’t agree on, but Doug being an absolute asshole wasn’t one.

Keith sat down on the couch. Friday night crept to the forefront of his mind, but he pushed that away. If he thought about how comfortable Lance’s chest was, he’d want to do that all over again.

They sat there for a few minutes before Lance stood up and stretched. The action made his shirt ride up. “Alright.” He said. “Let’s get started.”

“On what?”

“Cleaning. Mamá told me to always clean your home whenever company is coming, and we’re going to impress the shit out of Dolora.” He nodded to the kitchen. “You do kitchen. I got bathroom. We do our own rooms.”

Lance was definitely serious, which was odd considering how much he _loathed_ doing it. Still, Keith couldn’t complain. A clean bathroom is a clean bathroom.

By the time they were finished, the sun had fallen, and neither had the motivation to get up to get food. He looked at his phone. 7:22. Pidge would be there in eight minutes or so. (Knowing Pidge, it was definitely going to be an ‘or so’ situation.) He sighed. “What the hell does she see in the bastard anyways?”

“A ‘nice guy’ that just really hides his homophobia around her so that she’ll actually doesn’t leave his lonely and sorry ass.”

Keith laughed. “Yeah, that sounds about right.” He tapped his fingers on the couch. Something about this sudden visit didn’t sit well in his stomach, and he wasn’t sure why.  “I don’t like this. She’s suddenly coming _and_ she’s bringing Doug? Either she’s dying or they’re getting-”

The two stiffened before slowly turning their head towards each other, eyes wide with realization. “Oh, fuck no,” Keith whispered. His stomach and heart dropped as he pieced it all together. Lance bit his lip, obviously thinking the same thing as Keith. “You don’t think…?” he started before trailing off.

Keith groaned then leaned forward to put his elbows on his knees and head in his hands. “This can _not_ be happening,” he moaned out. He felt Lance rubbing his back as he muttered his denial. He shook his head. “My mom’s marrying Doug.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait! I hope you enjoyed it!
> 
> ~Au revoir, my lovelies~


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Domestic shopping and a little bit of heartbreak for our residential space princess.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys! Sorry it took so long to update! I've been swamped with school and stuff. But here's chapter four!

When he wasn’t fretting over school or his mom coming, Keith was trying to figure out what song he had to sing for the stupid bet he made. He definitely wanted to do a rock cover of something, break out his guitar and just jam out, but he wasn’t sure what to do. Lance suggested to find a pop song ( _“Those make the best covers once you put your own spin on them. I’ve listened to thousands of crappy pop songs with_ amazing _rock covers!”_ ), but most pop songs annoyed Keith to death that he couldn’t even bring himself to listen to a cover.

Groaning, he scratched out another name off the list and almost slammed his head onto his desk. “Why is this so hard?” he asked himself. From his bed, Red meowed. He looked at him. “Any suggestions?”

Red yawned then curled into a ball. He smiled. “Sleep sounds good.”

“Keith!” Lance yelled from the living room. Lifting his head, Keith yelled back, “Yeah?”

“Let’s go!”

He stood up from his chair and walked to his door, poking his head out. “Where?” As far as he knew, they didn’t have any plans, and neither of them had class or work today (a miracle, really). He heard Lance’s keys jiggle. “Store. We’re out of a shit ton of food, and the cats don’t have any kitty litter.” Lance stuck his head around the corner. “Plus, I’m scared to go to that one alone.”

“Just go to the one near Hunk’s apartment.”

“But that’s so far! Just come with me!” He pouted as he walked in front of Keith, his hands folding together in front of his face as he said, “Please?

Keith could’ve sworn that his heart skipped a beat before rapidly changing its pace. Shoving his hands in his pockets, he rocked on his heels. Lately, he’s been finding himself thinking more and more about this dork of a boy, and he had to admit that doing a cute domestic thing like grocery shopping with him _did_ sound appealing. Lance fluttered his eye lashes. _Shit,_ Keith thought. _This attractive male is not good for my rainbow-colored ass._

“What do I get out of it?” He sighed as he waited for Lance to answer. The boy tapped on his chin, thinking deeply. Keith had to bite his lip from smiling like an idiot. This was a face that Lance often made, typically when they were working on homework or when he was thinking of a solution. His eyes lit up, and he smiled as he snaps his fingers. “I’ll make _tres leche?_ The way Abuelita makes it?”

Abuelita was a kind woman and the daughter of two Cuban immigrants. Whenever she came over to their apartment (which was rare considering she lived in New Mexico and never really wanted to spend the money to travel), she’d always baby the boys and make them traditionally Latin American desserts she learned from her family and neighbors. Mostly, she spoke Spanish, but she knew English just as well. (“I want to mess with people’s head, _”_ she told him one day. They were watching Lance play with the kittens as she explained. “It’s always funny trying to watch them correct themselves when they realize I can speak it. I do get some asses sometimes.”)

“You’d definitely make it?” Keith asked. He wanted to make sure. To have Victoria’s enchiladas _and_ Abuelita’s _tres leche_ would be a dream come true for Keith. “Like no backing out, you’re gonna do it, it’s set in stone gonna make it?”

Lance scrunch his brows before slowly saying, “Yeah.” He rubbed his nose. “Yeah, yeah I’ll make it. Just come with me to the store, and I’ll do it.”

Without hesitation, Keith grabbed his phone and a hat before pushing past Lance. “Well?” he asked as he put on his hat. “Let’s go.”

The walk to the grocery store was unbearable. He probably should’ve changed out of his jeans before he left (and that black t-shirt he probably had kept on for two, maybe three days in a row), but he was distracted by thought of the delicious dessert waiting for him in the future. And Lance. Most importantly, Lance and him going to the grocery store and doing cute, domestic-like, couple stuff. (He had to admit that he thought of things like this before. There were times that he’d just lay awake at night thinking about Lance and kissing him and… Well, he won’t go too much into details. Some things were better left unsaid.)

Lance, once they got to their destination, ran inside to escape the heat, Keith following him shortly after. He grabbed a cart before pulling out a shopping list from his back pocket. "Okay," Lance said as he leaned on the bar of the cart. He looked at the list. "Let's get go the meat first." 

"Can we _afford_ meat?" 

Lance paused. His brows scrunched up in a (Keith couldn't believe he even thought this) cute way. Tapping on the bar, he pushed the cart forward. "We'll see what prices there are then go from there." 

"We can't blow our whole budget on a cow, Lance." 

"Who says it's gonna be a cow?"

He sighed and pulled out his phone to check his bank balance. Luckily, he picked up a few more shifts last week (killed him to do it, but he managed) and gained some extra dough. "Did we pay rent this month?" he asked, shoving his phone back into his pocket. His roommate nodded. "Yeah, but we still need money for next month's rent. When do you get paid?"

"Just did. You?" 

"Next week." 

The meat section was cold against his warm skin, and Keith suddenly started to regret not bringing a jacket. Lance seemed unaffected by it. That could be because he was raised in Vermont before moving to L.A. during his freshmen year of high school so his parents could open a pizzeria by the beach and take care of Victoria's mother. Without realizing it, Keith inched closer to Lance. 

Lance picked up a package of meat and showed it to Keith. "This is on sale. We could get this?" 

"What about this one? It's smaller and cheaper. And who's to say that we're gonna eat all the meat." 

"Keith, we are two starving college kids that have been living off of store brand cereal, toast, and ramen noodles. I'm pretty sure we're going to eat all of the meat." 

"Yeah, but can we _afford_ it?"

"Why do you keep asking that?"

"Because it's a valid question, and we're both broke as hell, and-"

"Well, aren't you a cute couple?" 

The boys stopped and turned around to see a woman-probably around late fifties, early sixties-smiling at them. A small child sat in the cart playing with a tablet. She grabbed a package of chicken before tossing it in the cart. "I recommend getting that one over there. It's cheaper and healthier." 

Lance was the one to speak first, stammering as he said, "W-we're not a c-couple, ma'am." 

She raised a brow before humming. “Doesn’t look like it.” Her eyes glanced downwards knowingly, and she shook her head. “Whatever you say. Trust me on the chicken, though. You won’t regret it!”

Keith’s throat closed up, and he could feel his face become redder and redder with each passing second. It was then he realized that he was holding Lance’s hand and that neither noticed. How could he not notice? He-Keith Yun-was holding Lance Reyes-McClain’s hand, the guy he probably had a crush on! (Oh, who was he kidding? It wasn’t ‘probably a crush’, it was a fucking heart attack every time the boy smiled at him. He definitely had more than rival/platonic-feelings for Lance.)

The heat of Lance’s hand didn’t leave his. When he looked up, he saw that the boy didn’t even notice it and went back to picking out chicken, his brown face flushed. He coughed to hide a smile and silently thanked the woman for giving him this sight.

* * *

 

Allura smelled the flowers to calm her nerves. The plastic crinkled as she moved them. Sighing, she lowered the bouquet and stared at her reflection in the large elevator doors. Hospitals always made her nervous, and she never thought that she’d be coming here every other day for months. Her grip on the bouquet tightened.

The elevator dinged as it reached the floor. Taking in a deep breath, she walked out and made her way down the hallways. Right, left, another right, pass the receptionist, all the way to the end of the hall. A family with a pair of twins exit out of the room next to the last one. The Kramers. The grandfather had a fall and broke a hip and his leg, but he should be leaving soon. She smiled at them as they passed. “Look, Mommy!” The girl cried. “I want my hair like that!”

“Maybe when you’re older.”

She watched as they walked down the hall and made a left. With another deep breath, Allura knocked on the door before entering. Inside, the TV was playing a show from BBC, her father’s favorite channel. His face lit up when he saw her. “Allura, my daughter! Back again, I see.”

“You know I can’t stay away from you for too long, Father.”

Alfor laughed lightly as he watched her change out the flowers. He reached for her hand. “How’s Shiro? Still kicking?”

“Yes, Father,” she said, her lips forming a small smile. “He’s doing well. He’s even adjusting to the arm better than expected.”

“That’s good, that’s good. And the wedding?”

He ran his fingers over the ring, and she hummed. “It’s coming along. I still haven’t found a dress yet.” She looked at him. “Do you know where Mum’s would be? I’ve looked in your garage and closet, but I couldn’t find it.”

Alfor closed his eyes. His fingers stilled for a moment. “I believe it’s in the attic. Have you looked there?”

“No, not yet. I’ll check that as soon as I get the chance.” She pulled up the chair near the window. It wasn’t the most ideal thing to sit in, but it would have to do. “Did I tell you about Hunk’s birthday party? It’s next Saturday, and we still haven’t got everything yet. I don’t even know how I’m going to pull it off. We’re going to do a Hawaiian theme, but there’s just so much that we don’t know about Hawaii, and I want it to be authentic but not _too_ authentic because he could get homesick, and-”

Her father’s laugh cut her off. He reached up and brushed a lock of hair from her face. “Allura.” His eyes were happy as he scanned her face. “You’ll do fine, my dear. You always do fine.”

She knew it was time to go when he settled back into his bed and closed his eyes. Rubbing her father’s hand, Allura stood up and kissed his temple. “I’ll be back soon,” she whispered before reaching over to grab the TV remote and turn it off. Alfor hummed.

Leaving the hospital felt so much better than coming. Her throat always closed up whenever she’d walk in, and the dread that she’d feel would never quite go away until she was in her car and was able to cry in peace. Her hands gripped the steering wheel tighter as she rested her head on it. The sob raked through her body violently before she could stop it.

She hated hospitals. She hated them when she had to go in for testing, she hated them when her mom got sick, and she most definitely hated them when Shiro was lying on those beds, the possibility of him never waking up always at the forefront of her mind. All of that, and now she was faced with this? Why did the universe decide to give her all the crap and none of the good?

Her hand covered her mouth as another sob escaped. It was always like this when she left, and it was even worse when they first found out. Three months after Shiro came home, her father had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. She had spent nearly everyday with him, and when he was admitted to the hospital, it was almost impossible to get her away. Eventually, she stopped going when Shiro’s arm was finished and he had to start going to physical therapy. She nearly lost her job at one point. (Good thing she didn’t. They still had to pay rent, bills, and all sorts of things.)

Running her fingers over eyes, Allura inhaled then blew everything out, troubles and all. She turned on the car, then the radio, then pulled out of her parking space. Home. She needed to go home. Home is where the good things are, and right now, she could use all the good things she could get.  

**Author's Note:**

> I had fun writing this. 
> 
> ~Au revoir, my lovelies!


End file.
